Semper Paratus– emptor et vendor

August 29, 2006 |

I spent a great deal of my college education and my summer employment around lawyers.  Truth be told, both my wife and I had every intention of going to law school when we graduated.  As life often does, it threw me a curve ball only months before we were to begin our first year.  Lucky for us, we waited on that curve ball, keeping the front shoulder in, and drove the pitch right into a career in real estate. 

I fully enjoyed the time I spent with lawyers.  The vast majority of the ones with whom I came in contact were very smart, nice, people, and they helped me learn a great deal.  Many of these lessons are things that translated very well into real estate.  Especially when it comes to client representation.  Perhaps that is why I sometimes find myself looking at real estate through a different lens than much of my competition.  Most REALTORS look at their job as a sales job.  While I don’t deny that there is an aspect of sales in real estate, especially on the listing side, I think of real estate in terms of representation. Also consider that not many people get dragged into court over poor marketing.  Poor representation, on the other hand . . .

I consider the chief purpose of my job to be the representation of the best interests of my client to the best of my ability.  Sometimes, that best interest is the sale of a client’s home, so sales and marketing skills play a larger roll.  Other times, that best interest is the purchase of a home, in which case my skills of representation and consultation are paramount.

The thing that I learned from attorneys is that the party that most often achieves their desired goal is the one that is most prepared.  That is why I live and work by the motto, "Semper Paratus,"  always prepared.  If it’s good enough for the US Coast Guard, it’s good enough for me.  This is true because the most prepared party is not distracted by the many things that can happen unexpectedly. Preparation allows that party to deal effectively with the unexpected, and not get caught up and slowed down by it. 

Of course, there are two sides to every real estate transaction, buyer and seller.  Therefore, both must be as prepared as possible.  Many of us are familiar with the Latin phrase, caveat emptor, "buyer beware."  I have always felt that a prepared buyer has little or nothing to fear or beware of.  That is why I work as hard as I can to prepare my buyers for the task at hand, and the many steps along the way.  Are there things that come up that we may not have prepared for?  Certainly, but a prepared buyer is much more able to handle those few surprises without unnecessary stress and anxiety. 

The same goes for sellers, vendor, in Latin.  Those that are going to sell their homes need to be prepared in much the same way as buyers.  They need to understand all the things that are involved with selling a home.  As always, unexpected things are bound to happen, but proper preparation can make those unexpected things much easier to handle.

So for all you vendors and emptors out there, remember this–  semper paratus.

More on what this preparation means in a future post. . .

Posted by Daniel | Filed Under Buying, Selling 

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